Page 1 of Dibs
1
CHASE
Turning around in the doorway,I took a minute to let it sink in that this would be the last time I stood in a clubhouse as a major league baseball player.
It had been a wild twelve-year run, but it had come to an end. It felt as though I was losing a piece of myself. Maybe I was. But at the same time, I would be gaining something priceless: more time with my kids. Things were going to be different for all of us. Jase was eleven and Cammie was seven, and they were used to me being home only half the year.
At the end of the previous school year, my ex-wife, Jamie, moved with Jase and Cammie to San Diego. It was the perfect time because Jase would be starting middle school, and we knew I would retire at the end of the season. When Jamie and I divorced five years ago, she agreed to stay in Denver where I played for the Rockies so I could see my kids during baseball season. Since I was retiring, we chose to move back to California where Jamie and I were from. I didn’t grow up in San Diego as she had. My hometown was in Long Beach, but since Jamie and I had an amicable relationship, I’d decided to move further south. It was the least I could do since she’d stayed in Colorado to let me live out my dream.
I’d sold my house in Denver earlier in the season and closed on a beachfront four-bedroom home in Del Mar, just north of San Diego, a few weeks ago.
Taking a deep breath, I turned and walked out the door and headed toward the players’ parking lot. I was the last to leave, having needed some time to process everything, and the moment I pushed the steel door open, my children rushed over and engulfed me.
“What are you two doing here?”
“We were waiting for you.” Jase beamed.
I looked to where Jamie was standing a few feet away. “They insisted on waiting for you since it was your last game.”
“If I’d known you were waiting, I would have hurried.”
“Mommy said to give you some time,” Cammie replied, her arms still around my waist.
I smiled down at my seven-year-old. “Thank you for that, baby girl, but you should be in bed.”
It was close to midnight, and I’d assumed I would see them for breakfast at the hotel the following morning because that was what we’d discussed before the game. The three of them had flown in from California to attend my final games and the retirement party Jamie had planned for me. I’d had no intention of having a celebration, but when Cammie insisted I have one because she wanted a party—with ponies—Jamie offered to set it up, minus the horses, of course. I wasn’t going to turn down her offer and disappoint my little girl. Plus, we invited friends I hadn’t seen in a few years, and I was looking forward to catching up with them.
“Mommy said we can sleep in since we will be up late for your party tomorrow,” my little girl advised.
“Is that so?” We headed toward my car.
“It’s not every day their father retires.” Jamie grinned.
“Well, let’s get you two in bed. I’m not the only one with exciting days ahead.” I winked at my son.
“I can’t wait for you to watch me play,” he replied.
Before the three of them moved to San Diego, I would catch Jase’s baseball games if my schedule allowed, but I missed most of them. Since I was going to have more time on my hands, we signed Jase up for a fall travel ball team. To help him make friends after their move, he had played summer ball with the same team and I had yet to see any of his tournaments.
“I can’t either.” I squeezed his shoulder before unlocking my Lexus LX SUV with a press of a button on the driver’s side door.
They needed a ride to the hotel since they had taken a rideshare to the field. Everyone piled into the car and I cranked the engine, immediately turning on the seat warmers. With each passing day heading into mid-October, the nights became colder and colder.
“I’ll tell you this”—I turned to Jamie—“I’m not going to miss the snow.”
“Totally,” she agreed, strapping on her seatbelt.
“Coach Stat said it’s going to be in the eighties in Phoenix.” Jase beamed.
“That sounds amazing.” I backed out of the parking spot.
“Are you bringing your swimsuit?” he asked.
“Yeah, it’s in my suitcase, buddy.”
After my party, we were heading to Arizona for his baseball tournament. To outsiders, we probably looked like one big happy family since Jamie and I had been determined to remain friends after we’d separated. We’d met at UCLA during my junior year and her sophomore year, dated for two years, and married in the fall of my debut season with the MLB after she graduated. We were married for seven years, but we mainly stayed together because we had Jase and Cammie right away. In the end, me being on the road a lot was hard on Jamie and she wanted a marriage where her husband was home every night. Funny thing was, we were both still single because she had yet to find anyone to settle down with and I’d never looked.
Once we arrived at the hotel I’d been staying at since selling my house, I handed my keys to the valet and followed Jamie to her room to tuck the kids into bed.
